


Hiraeth

by XtaticPearl



Category: Agent Carter (TV), Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Avengers Family, Bucky Barnes Remembers, Domestic Avengers, Domestic Peggy Carter/Angie Martinelli, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Jarvis (Iron Man movies) Feels, Past Character Death, Past Peggy Carter/Steve Rogers, Steve Needs a Hug, Tony Stark Has A Heart
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-14
Updated: 2015-12-14
Packaged: 2018-05-06 12:02:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,055
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5416202
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/XtaticPearl/pseuds/XtaticPearl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A one-shot where Tony tries to talk the SHRA through without resorting to war and Steve discovers that there is still one person who Tony Stark would do anything for. Even accept defeat. It just so happens that the 'someone' might be the one link that opens a new chapter in his relationship with Tony. Also, Angie X Peggy.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Hiraeth

**Author's Note:**

> I spent five hours writing chapters to the other two Stony fics I'm currently writing but my laptop decided it hated me and I lost all 102,340 words. Instead of taking a knife to my laptop, I decided to calm down with a one shot about a situation I always dream of. Hope you enjoy and weep beautiful tears. <3

The room always smelt of white calla lilies. He once asked Angie about it, but she simply smiled in that mysterious way of hers and told him that it was her  _gattino_ 's work. Which made no sense, because Steve knew Italian and also knew that kittens didn't smell like lilies.

It was the 25th time he was visiting the little nursing home in Sleepy Hollow, an ironic name considering how people who came to this nursing home were preparing for a deeper sleep. Steve Rogers had no illusions or rose-tinted hopes about what would inevitably happen. Unlike most rumors, he was actually a practical and tactical man. He could handle loss as well as the next person. Which was saying something because the person next to him right now was the strongest person he knew.

"I got you marshmallow cookies," he informed the frail looking woman on the bed "Barton bakes them the best. He says he makes rainbow cakes better but I kinda like his cookies more."

Peggy snorted softly, quirking her lips faintly. "Well, it only makes sense that the biggest marshmallow in the country likes marshmallow cookies" she teased making Steve roll his eyes slightly.

"Oh hush English, we all know who's a bigger marshmallow than Steve," Angie Martinelli Carter quipped as she entered the room with two cups of coffee, for herself and Steve, "If anything, I'd say you're a monster marshmallow while he's more of a snowman marshmallow." The twinkling eyes winked at Steve when he groaned at being called snowman again. Making snow/ice related puns was Angie's favorite thing to do when he was around. Peggy was marginally more mature; she stuck to spandex and old guy jokes.

Peggy's eyes went softer when her wife walked to the bed and pressed a lingering kiss to her forehead and touched her cheek faintly. Steve always averted his eyes when this happened - not because he felt uncomfortable but because it was something untouchable. Something his Peggy had created for herself with dedicated love and affection. A family.

Angie nudged Peggy with her hip to create room on the bed and sat down beside her pillow. She leaned forward and snagged a cookie from Steve's box with a smile.

"You know, you could visit on days other than a Thursday too sometimes," the ex-actress observed while biting into a cookie and brushing a wayward white lock of hair from her face "we could have a Nonagenarian Night In on Sundays. I have this delicious series you would like.  _Gilmore Girls_ \- perfect for a girls' sleepover."

"And then we could talk about some Avenger gossip or I could tell you swear-worthy tales about Nickie's past. Just something to keep you entertained the next time you meet him." Peggy grinned slyly while Steve shook his head at the image of a young Nick Fury.

"Well, as much as I'd like to spend more time with my favorite dames," Steve said with a mock bow to a preening Angie and grinning Peggy "I'm good with one day of absolute embarrassment every week, thank you."

Angie gave a playful 'your loss' shrug as Peggy smiled at her wife.

"Anyway," Steve continued with a wistful tone "It's not like I'd be able to afford a lot more visits. Being a fugitive doesn't really help traveling freely often." He tried to keep the bitter tone out but he couldn't cover up the frustrated frown that clouded his face.

Peggy's face took on an unreadable expression before clearing up. "Maybe you won't be a fugitive for much longer," she replied with a forced smile, knowing fully what Steve meant.

He always confessed everything to Peggy, even before his 'rebirth'. He told her about Bucky's appearance, cried over his old friend's broken state, fretted over the idiocy of the darn SHRA and shared the frustration of running from the government's minions always. At first he had felt anxious about sharing things in front of Angie, but the sweet woman had never forced him or made him feel uncomfortable about anything. She would always stay silent when Peggy and Steve spoke about things that were related to SHIELD, WWII, the Avengers or more complicated stuff like Howard Stark and Dr. Erskine. 

"I don't think so," Steve shook his head bitterly, remembering his last conversation with Tony Stark about a month back "Stark isn't going to back down and we can't give up. Things..don't look good right now."

Peggy frowned the way she often would before she took charge and whipped pathetic wimps into shape, but Angie placed a warm hand on her arm and gave a pointed look. Somehow, Steve thought that these two spoke more in their looks than normal people would do for hours.

"I'm sure that things will become better soon, Steve," Angie smiled compassionately, rubbing Peggy's arm in unconscious thought "When you do believe in the things you do, they always do become better."

Steve simply nodded and left further conversation unsaid. They chatted for a while, mostly cheerful ribbing about Peggy's utter terrorizing of the nurses in the home, Angie's absolute hate for canned food and Steve's fascination with spy stories. They played twenty questions and Steve couldn't compete with Angie, who surprisingly beat both him and Peggy within five questions every time. Peggy scowled at that till Angie laughed and kissed her scowl away. Steve felt a happy ache at the scene.

When the time came to leave, Steve hugged Angie warmly, kissed Peggy's cheek and promised to visit as soon as he could. They all knew that it would be the next Thursday, but Steve anyway made it a point to promise them - something he did out of memory or fear, he didn't know.

He had gone a few miles away when he realized that he had left his phone in the nursing home. Sighing to himself, he jogged back the distance to retrieve it.

He was a few steps from Peggy's room when he heard it. That sound...something he hadn't heard in months.

A particular laughter.

"- and then Pepper looks, she just blinks and stares at me and Rhodey before closing her eyes and all she has, all she said was one sentence - "I should have had a stronger nightcap" and that's it. Rhodey  **falls** from my head, like vaults down from it, and I'm stuck with his stupid juice box in hand and I say-"

"-it's not what it looks like, Pepper!" Steve hears Angie giggle the sentence and the other two voices joining her.

For the second time in his life, Captain America froze to the spot.

He should have walked away. Or maybe burst in and seen things for himself. But he didn't want to do the first and wouldn't do the latter. Still, he had heard Tony Stark, in Peggy Carter's room. Taking advantage of shock, he decided to eavesdrop, because when you are in this kind of situation you do that.

The door was open a sliver, just enough for someone with sharp eyesight to see inside. Steve stood against the wall and glanced inside.

Yep, there was Tony Stark, talking to a laughing Peggy and Angie. He looked further and saw a bouquet of white calla lilies and ivy in Peggy's hand. 

_So this was Angie's kitten!_

"But honestly, gattino, that girl is a saint to handle both you boys," Angie chided with a smile and got an awkward shrug in response.

"Yeah, well, she knows that," Tony smiled and winked when Peggy rolled her eyes "but why're we talking about Pepper. I always talk about Pepper, it's like a disease I've got. Even Pepper doesn't like me talking about her. Let's talk about something else, let's talk about the latest person this little devil here has terrorized." He smirked even as Angie shook her head in exasperation. 

"Or maybe we could talk about this new stupidity you're indulging in?" Peggy's voice sounded sharper and her eyes turned stern "Something about Superhero Regulation?"

Steve saw Tony's smirk falter and become broken for a second before it came back on. But this time his body looked stiffer.

"Oh come on, Agent," he fake pouted "You're not going to tell me your little Nonagenarian Naughty Tales? Now, I'm heart broken! How many times have I told you the most embarrassing things I've done, not that they were really embarrassing, because let's face it, it takes more than a few failed 'big boys' to get Starks embarrassed, right?"

This time Angie frowned and placed a hand on Tony's arm. "Tony, if you don't want to talk about something, it's alright. We're not going to force you -"

"Yes, we are," Peggy butted in only to get a stern look from her wife.

"-because we know that you wouldn't do anything that you don't believe in. But we were just worried, that's all." Angie smiled softly, her hand still on Tony's arm.

Tony cleared his throat and looked at Peggy. The stern brown eyes weren't judging, simply expecting. He looked like he was going to move on and change the topic but Peggy kept staring, like she was trusting him to tell her the truth.

"Ugh, you know you're the worst right?" Tony succumbed after a few minutes, though his words had no heat.

Peggy shrugged one shoulder "Well, you learnt it from the best." she said haughtily making Angie roll her eyes.

Tony stuck out his tongue petulantly but then slouched. "It's not going great," he grunted, picking at the Ivy vines in Peggy's bouquet "I tried, like the whole mature act, completely with no drinking and full commitment to the greater good. The Act isn't my style but I can see why we need it. I mean, we all know what happened with Ultron, right? I practically destroyed all those who I wanted to protect. And then the whole Nick Fury thing with his ping pong with death. Is he dead? Is he not dead? He might suddenly come back one day and be like 'I'M BACK MOTHER..well, you know what he says."

"And now with the whole Winter Soldier crap. You should really listen to some of the shit the idiots at Washington say. A guy gets tortured for about 30 years, is forced to become a killing machine, almost kills his best friend, cannot forget his past or remember the good parts of it and don't even get me started on the PTSD level he'd go through. I was trapped in a cave for a month and I still have nightmares; that guy's at least going to have them for twenty years. But do the idiots at Washington realize that? NO. They're hell bent on tracking him down and terminating him. I mean, even poultry gets more mercy than this guy!"

Tony paused and Steve had to bite his lips from making any sound.

"I'm trying to balance my friends and the people, but it's all going to shit," the billionaire continued in a small voice "The Act would do so much good. It could make people trust us more and make the good guys more accountable. But..but I can see that it can also be absolutely devastating."

"The whole 'keep superheroes on a leash' thing is just not gonna work out. I can practically see Barton creating holes in any person who'd try to intrude into his life. Barnes is probably going to just toss out the whole rehab thing and go bananas. And Cap?"

Now Tony had a bitter laugh that made Steve hear harder.

"Captain America will just flip. Completely and utterly flip out. Bat shit craziness will happen," Tony echoed, shaking his head "I remember the whole Ultron speech he gave me. It was shitty, really, but he had a point. We can't end the war even before it begins. I get it, I really do. But I also know that we've got to have some kind of moderation. Some regulatory thing that'll make us think twice before we blow up half of Manhattan, which hey, I've done. I just...I just wish we could find a middle path. Something that isn't total government ass-kissing or freeloading on our superpowers. Just..just something practical."

"So why don't you talk to your Avengers about it?" Peggy asked softly, her eyes less hard now.

Tony shook his head vehemently, "Nah, they're not interested. It's like half of them hear only 'STUPID,STUPID, STUPID' when I talk. It's not gonna happen. Believe me, I tried. Even made a civil request to talk to Cap, and that's like Mt. Everest level for me."

Peggy sighed and nodded, "Well, you keep trying then." she said.

Tony started to protest about it but Angie shushed him with a wave of her hand.

"Now, you listen to me," Peggy continued, making Tony look at her "there's nothing more important that doing what you believe in, Dummy. Didn't your mama say that often?"

"I think you said that," Tony corrected her but with a fond scowl "And why is it that you call me Dummy thinking that it'll change my mind about something?"

Angie and Peggy gave him a smile that screamed 'we love you but you're so dumb' "That's because you do" they said in unison. 

Steve could hear Tony chuckle and then change the topic, but he didn't stand there anymore. He could feel his breath coming out raggedly and his mind running miles a minute.

_Tony didn't want to control them. He didn't want to hurt Bucky._

And then it hit him like a truck of bricks.

_Tony needed his help to do the right thing and Steve was not doing it._

He stumbled away from the door and walked back to the safe house without looking back. It seemed that he had a lot to think about.

                                                                                               ---------------------------

The next Thursday came too soon for his liking. Steve wanted to figure out a lot many things before he could visit again. On second thought, he didn't even know if Tony visited Peggy regularly or if that was just a one-time thing. He also didn't know if he should be thinking about Tony when he was going to meet Peggy.

When he sat beside Peggy and spoke to her and Angie, he was thinking about how they looked friendly with Tony. When he smelt the fragrance of lilies, he remembered the weird but beautiful Ivy and Lily bouquet Tony got for Peggy. When they would ask him if everything was alright with Bucky, he would remember Tony's observations about him.

It was driving him crazy and he smiled through it all. Because he couldn't let Peggy know that he had eavesdropped on them.

At the end of his visiting time, he lingered for a minute but then felt awkward when Angie gave him a suspicious stare. He scurried out of the place with the same old promises of visiting.

And waited in the basement to see if a certain billionaire would visit again. It was one of Steve Rogers' lowest moments and he wasn't proud of it, but hey, you don't think of pride when you stalk.

He waited for half an hour before chiding himself for behaving stupidly and started to leave when he saw the black car drive in.

He almost lost his courage in that moment but stayed put till Tony climbed the stairs to the room.

 _He was such a loser_. But he still followed him back up.

This time the bouquet was an arrangement of white calla lilies and yellow roses. Steve thought Tony had stolen it from some poor bridesmaid.

But Angie seemed to love them and Peggy had a smile too.

"So Dummy, what's new?" Peggy asked when Tony sat down "Break any hearts recently?"

"More like, got any more heartburns yourself." Angie winked at a scoffing Tony.

"You know, just when I think I like you more, you betray me like this Ms.Jolie," Tony mock scowled and got a swat on his hand for the Jolie comment.

"Oh come on gattino," Angie pouted to the sheer eye roll genius of Peggy "you know English hates TV and I absolutely loathe making gossip with the other ladies here. Such boring things they have to talk!" the ex-actress shuddered dramatically and Tony chuckled.

"Wellll" the billionaire pulled on the last syllable "I broke another suit, got Pepper in a snit over glowing cuff links, invented a talking pen and watched that _Gilmore Girls_ you recommended. Horrible town, hilarious people. Really, I think I've found my soulmate in Lorelai Gilmore. We're going to have coffee babies some day and you'll get to be the whipped cream grannies."

"I'd like to be a granny," Angie said wistfully before cheering up and teasing Tony "though I'm not sure if coffee babies are good for you. You might just drink them up one morning."

Tony considered that and shrugged in agreement.

"What we'd really like to hear about is your whole Superhero situation," Peggy cut in with an amused smirk. Tony groaned at that and poked at Peggy's wrist.

"You know, I'm starting to think that you wanna meet me just to get gossip on other superheroes," he said with a frown.

"I thought you'd never realize," Peggy replied in a deadpanned voice "and now that you have, get on with it. What's new?"

 Steve saw Tony huff and balance his face on his palm. 

"Not much actually," Tony began, looking into a distance out the window "I mean, I haven't gotten Cap or his 'team' to talk to me yet, so there's a dud. But I got Natasha to agree to be a mediator. I'm thinking that if Captain America blocks me out, I can try to get through to him through her? She does have great convincing powers, you know. Those eyebrows in themselves, phew, you should see how people scramble when she lifts one. I saw even Thor cower under the power of her eyebrows once. I don't have a clue if it'll work with Cap, but hey, positivity! It's something Pepper's got me practicing. I hate it, it makes me not do stupid things. Hey, are those cookies?"

Steve jerked back and saw that Tony had noticed the box of cookies he had brought for Angie.  _Shit shit shit_. 

"What? Oh that, yes," Peggy waved her hand dismissively "one of Angie's fans dropped it off for her this morning. Guess people other than you and me have bad taste too, huh?"

Angie made a face but offered the box to Tony, who looked unsure but took one anyway. 

"Oh my god!" he moaned through a bite "are these oatmeal raisins? How in the world can someone make oatmeal raisin cookies like this? It's like flying supersonic through candyland! God! I need more!"

Steve smiled a little when Tony made grabby hands at the box and Peggy slapped his hand away but Angie just gave the whole box to him. He heard them start talking about cookies and monster cookies and smiled wider. Shaking his head, he walked away, having had his dose of eavesdropping for the day.

                                                                                                              -----------------------------------------

"Does Tony ever meet you guys?" Steve asks Peggy on the third visit. The bedridden agent shares a look with her wife before looking back at Steve.

"Yes" she replies, her eyes challenging him to say something about it.

Steve doesn't. He's happy they trust him enough to tell the truth.

                                                                                                   ----------------------------------------

"What happened to your eye?!" Angie screams when Tony takes his glasses off during the fourth visit. Peggy looks grim but concerned nonetheless.

"It's nothing big," Tony assures them "oh and you might want to hear this: Cap's agreed to meet tomorrow. I don't know how this happened, but I'm thanking Natasha for her eyebrows."

Peggy smiles like she knows something more. Angie grins and pats Tony's cheek.

Steve looks at the white calla lilies and red roses bouquet and grins. He's happy he's trying.

The injured arm chides him for not trying earlier. 

                                                                                              -----------------------------------------

Tony is grinning like crazy at the fifth visit.

"Guess what, no don't guess, that'll ruin my surprise moment," he waves his hands like a kid "I got Bucky immunity from the fuc...officials at the government! Isn't that awesome? I called Cap for a celebration but he said he has an appointment today. But yaay, we're one step in the right direction!"

Tony's brought lilies and blue roses. Angie shares Peggy's knowing smile today. 

Steve smiles wider when Tony steals the rainbow muffins for himself. 

                                                                                             --------------------------------------------

The sixth visit is a disaster.

Not because of Steve, though that doesn't make him feel good. He's already agreed to chalk out a non-infringing charter of the SHRA. It doesn't include the stupid conditions against a superhero's freedom, dignity or privacy and yet makes sure that they are held accountable for unnecessary loss to civilians or property. Steve had seen Tony hide his manic grin when they shook hands on it.

No, this sadness wasn't because of Steve.

Peggy had fallen sick. Sicker than usual. She'd almost slipped into a coma.

Tony didn't speak much that day. He had a single lily and he spent the whole time simply lying in Angie's lap, staring at a sleeping Peggy.

                                                                                          ---------------------------------------

On the seventh visit, Tony was back to normalcy and Peggy was back to her sarcastic self.

Steve left two boxes of oatmeal raisin cookies and saw a surprised smile flash across Tony's face for a minute.

He bought himself a lily on the way back home. 

                                                                                            ----------------------------------------

Steve had lingered too long on the eighth visit. He got caught up in nostalgia and lost track of time.

So when Tony walked in through the door, he couldn't mask the panic of his face. Tony looked like a deer caught in the headlights too.

"He's been here for eight weeks spying on you Dummy, now get your ass inside and sit down," Peggy commented and stared Tony down.

There was an awkward silence that day, but a lot many blueberry muffins were finished.

 "I'm sorry" Steve said on the way out from the nursing home.

Tony stopped in his tracks and turned to cock an eyebrow, "About what?"

"Not trusting you," Steve admitted without avoiding Tony's eyes.

The billionaire gave a scrutinizing look for a few minutes before nodding. 

"Next week, don't hide." he said before driving away.

                                                                               ---------------------------------

On the ninth visit's morning, Steve almost stabbed the table in nervousness. Sam had taken one look at him and gone back into his room. Steve had begged Clint to make chocolate chip cookies for today. The archer had simply raised an eyebrow and huffed "About goddamn time."

When Steve entered the room, he was momentarily surprised to see that Tony was early. He didn't let the surprise affect him though and greeted Peggy and Angie like always. If Peggy saw his hand shiver for a second, she was too considerate to out him.

"So Steve," Angie said as they sat munching on the chocolate chip cookies "Tony tells me that you're applying for an Arts major at the University?"

Steve shot a shocked glare at Tony who simply stared back. He had a good mind to deny it and divert the attention but something in Tony's eyes held a certain challenging hope. He didn't know why he thought that he could read Tony Stark's eyes but he met Angie's eyes and smiled.

"Yes, I thought I'd learn to do things better," he replied with a smile.

He definitely heard the muttered "About time you did" from Tony's side but noticed that there was a small quirk to the billionaire's lips.

Peggy looked extraordinarily smug that day. The know-it-all.

                                                                         --------------------------------------------------

"Hello Howard," Peggy said on the tenth visit. Everybody went still. Steve looked at Tony for any signs of discomfort.

Moments ticked by painfully before the billionaire raised his chin and smirked

"That stopped being funny thirty years ago," he said with a grin

"So did you," Peggy retorted with a wink. Steve breathed a sigh of relief and laughed when Tony winked at him.

                                                                     

"Listen, I don't hate you" Tony says on their way out from the nursing home.

Steve takes a moment to process where this came from but doesn't get a clue.

"Okay.." he says cautiously.

"I did before," Tony informs with an overtly nonchalant shrug

"But you don't now?" Steve asks in amusement

"A little bit," Tony concedes with a playful smirk

"Me too, Tony" Steve replies and watches the smirk grow into a grin.

                                                                                       --------------------------------------------------

The eleventh visit gets a bit bizzare because Tony and Peggy get into an argument about the past.

"I know you hate him,"

"-he was nothing like Jarvis-"

"but it's not like he didn't care"

"-and what does that even mean!-"

"about you."

"No, he didn't!"

They're both fuming and staring hard at each other. It is in that moment that Steve realizes where Tony got his argumentative skills from.

Angie sit on the bed beside Peggy and looks at both of them pointedly

"I don't talk about the dead-"

"Yes, you do" Peggy interrupted but was silenced with a look

"-but Howard Stark was the most awful father ver. I should know. He married my sister."

Steve sees Peggy scowl adorably and ignores Tony preening over his win. That is the first day he openly touches Tony, when he smacks the back of his head. Angie looks proud.

                                                                                               --------------------------------------------

Steve brings Bucky with him for the twelfth visit. He has never seen his friend blush more when Peggy recognizes him as the "young, dapper guy I almost dumped Steve for."

Tony is stifling his giggle in Angie's shoulder.

As they are about to leave, Steve hears Peggy call Tony and talk to him.

"Tony, I want you to do something for me," she said solemnly

"Oh God!" Tony yelped "Oh god, don't! Just..don't do the last wish shit please!"

Peggy frowned, "What? No!"

"Oh!" Tony visibly relaxed "Okay, what?"

"Geez!" Peggy rolled her eyes " I just want to make sure that you get Barnes a haircut."

Tony looked confused, "Um, okay? Why don't you ask Steve about it?"

Peggy gave a sagely nod "The last time I asked him something, he was 70 years late. I'd rather not wait till Barnes becomes Rapunzel."

Steve gets the stinkiest grin from Tony before leaving.

                                                                                   -----------------------------------

Sam Wilson joins Steve for the next visit. He's heard so many stories about the awesome Agent Carter that he pleads with Steve to come along. 

Tony side-eyes him shamelessly.

"Mr.Stark," Sam offers his hand during introduction.

"Mr.Falcon," Tony replies with a fake-solemn nod.

"That's my name in the suit," Sam frowns while giving Steve a look.

"And Stark's mine in a suit too. Just more cloth-ey and less wingy," Tony replies with a cheeky glint in his eyes.

That night Sam tells Steve that he approves of Tony.

                                                                                  -------------------------

The next Sunday, Natasha makes Steve and the others move into the Avengers Tower.

"We're moving in with you," she informs Tony as she places her bags in her old room.

"Okay, but don't you think we should date first?" Tony quips back as he eyes Bucky joining them too. Bucky doesn't smile at him but doesn't growl either, so Tony takes that as a win.

"I'll leave that to Cap and you," Natasha pats Tony's head before disappearing into her room.

Tony thinks Steve looks adorable in a blush.

                                                                                    ---------------------

"I killed your parents," Bucky tells Tony one day as he enters his workshop.

Tony doesn't through his blowtorch in the air thankfully and calmly turns to face the determined looking man.

"And I killed my godfather, join the club." he says, before turning back and continuing with his work.

Bucky leaves after fifteen minutes. He also often visits the workshop after that, even if it's just to fix his arm.

                                                                                 ---------------------------

"Tony, I need to explain about Bucky," Steve says as way of greeting before they leave for their fourteenth visit.

"Explain what?" Tony is genuinely confused

"Why I did ..why I'm doing all this for him. You need to know." Steve looks desperate and Tony places a warm hand on his shoulder.

"I know it already, Steve. Chill."

"What?" Steve looks flabbergasted

"Yeah, he's your Rhodey, right?" Tony grins and gives an 'it's obvious' shrug.

Steve blinks "That's...correct."

Tony smiles and reaches up to lightly brush his lips across Steve's.

"Always the tone of surprise," he says before leading Steve out by hand.

                                                                        ---------------------

Peggy looks terribly small and Steve can hear Tony's heart breaking at her sight.

They're in their fifteenth visit and the doctors say that they've lost hope for her.

"Hey Ange?" Peggy croaks out, eyes closed but hand reaching out.

Angie catches her palm and curles her fingers around it, "Yes, English?"

"We did good, huh?" she smiles softly.

Angie traces a finger over Peggy's eyebrow, "The best, English, the best."

Tony initially refuses to talk to Peggy. He's scared shitless. But he gives in when Angie gives him her old puppy eyes.

"Hey, ma?" he whispers softly, using their secret endearment one last time, "Thanks for not taking me out with the trash."

Peggy grins weakly, "Of course not darling, you'd have been terrible trash."

They both laugh softly before Peggy holds his hand and sighs,

"Goodnight, Dummy"

"Goodnight, ma."

Steve wants to run after Tony when the billionaire rushes out to get a grip over his feelings. But he doesn't because he isn't done with Peggy yet. So he smiles and sits by her side.

"Hey, Steve?" she asks softly, "Is this goodbye?"

"I don't know Peggy," he answers truthfully

"I think it is," she replies and continues after a pause, "Take care of my son for me will you?"

                                                               --------------------------------------------------------------

Peggy Carter died on a Wednesday. Tony refused to leave Angie's side and Steve let him cope the way he wanted.

All the SHIELD agents, ex and present, came by for the funeral.

After the function ended, Tony sat by Steve's side and lay his head on his shoulder.

"You think we'll be fine?" he asks softly

"No," Steve replies with a sad grin "but we'll keep trying."

Tony stays quiet for a while before holding Steve's hand.

" That sounds enough."

Steve feels his heart clenching but this time it's with happiness for himself.


End file.
